You
should read enough of the materials presented in this section concerning the
tradition of Shintoism in order to understand how this tradition displays
the characteristics or elements that make a tradition one that would be
termed a “religion. The tradition presented in the materials below is one
of the world’s living religions. You reading should indicate why this is
so.

·THE ABSOLUTE: what do the
believers hold as most important? What is the ultimate source of value and
significance? For many, but not all religions, this is given some form of
agency and portrayed as a deity (deities). It might be a concept or ideal
as well as a figure.

·THE WORLD: What does the belief
system say about the world? Its origin? its relation to the Absolute? Its
future?

·HUMANS: Where do they come
from? How do they fit into the general scheme of things? What is their
destiny or future?

·THE PROBLEM FOR HUMANS: What is
the principle problem for humans that they must learn to deal with and
solve?

·THE SOLUTION FOR HUMANS: How
are humans to solve or overcome the fundamental problems ?

·COMMUNITY AND ETHICS: What is
the moral code as promulgated by the religion? What is the idea of
community and how humans are to live with one another?

·AN INTERPRETATION OF HISTORY:
Does the religion offer an explanation for events occurring in time? Is
there a single linear history with time coming to an end or does time
recycle? Is there a plan working itself out in time and detectable in the
events of history?

·RITUALS AND SYMBOLS: What are
the major rituals, holy days, garments, ceremonies and symbols?

·LIFE AFTER DEATH: What is the
explanation given for what occurs after death? Does he religion support a
belief in souls or spirits which survive the death of the body? What is the
belief in what occurs afterwards? Is there a resurrection of the body?
Reincarnation? Dissolution? Extinction?

·RELATIONSHIP TO OTHER
RELIGIONS: What is the prescribed manner in which believers are to regard
other religions and the followers of other religions?

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For those who wish to listen to information on the world's
religions here is a listing of PODCASTS on RELIGIONS by Cynthia
Eller.

I.
IntroductionShinto (Japanese,
"the way of the gods"), Japanese cult and religion, originating
in prehistoric times, and occupying an important national position for
long periods in the history of Japan, particularly in recent times. During
its early period, the body of religious belief and practice called Shinto
was without a name and had no fixed dogma, moral precepts, or sacred
writings. Worship centered on a vast pantheon of spirits, or kami,
mainly divinities personifying aspects of the natural world, such as the
sky, the earth, heavenly bodies, and storms. Rites included prayers of
thanksgiving; offerings of valuables, such as swords and armor and,
especially, cloth; and ablutionary purification from crime and defilement.II. Early
HistoryIn
the late 6th century AD the name Shinto was created for the
native religion to distinguish it from Buddhism and Confucianism, which
had been introduced from China. Shinto was rapidly overshadowed by
Buddhism, and the native gods were generally regarded as manifestations of
Buddha in a previous state of existence. Buddhist priests became the
custodians of Shinto shrines and introduced their own ornaments, images,
and ritual. At the end of the 8th and the beginning of the 9th centuries,
the celebrated Japanese teacher Kukai, or (posthumously) Kobo Daishi,
established a doctrine uniting Buddhism and Shinto under the name of Ryobu
Shinto (Japanese, "the Shinto of two kinds"). In the new
religion, Buddhism dominated Shinto, and elements were adopted from
Confucianism. The ancient practice of Shinto proper virtually disappeared
and was maintained only at a few great shrines and in the imperial palace,
although the emperors themselves had become Buddhists. The distinctively
Shinto priests became fortune-tellers and magicians.

Beginning
in the 18th century, Shinto was revived as an important national religion
through the writings and teachings of a succession of notable scholars,
including Mabuchi, Motoori Norinaga, and Hirata Atsutane. Motivated by
nationalistic sentiments that took the form of reverence for Japanese
antiquity and hatred for ideas and practices of foreign origin, these men
prepared the way for the disestablishment of Buddhism and the adoption of
Shinto as the state religion. In 1867 the shogunate was overthrown, and
the emperor was restored to the head of the government. According to
revived Shinto doctrine, the sovereignty of the emperor was exercised by
divine right through his reputed descent from the sun goddess Amaterasu
Omikami, who is considered the founder of the Japanese nation. Related
beliefs included the doctrines that the Japanese were superior to other
peoples because of their descent from the gods, and that the emperor was
destined to rule over the entire world. Until the defeat of Japan in World
War II, these beliefs were of the utmost importance in assuring popular
support for the military expansion of the Japanese Empire.

III.
Contemporary Shinto

Before
1946 Shinto took two forms: State, or Shrine, Shinto, a patriotic
nationalistic cult, identified with and financially supported by the
imperial Government; and Sectarian Shinto, a general term for a number of
sects founded by private persons and based on various interpretations of
traditional Shinto. State Shinto, as the official government cult,
theoretically embodied the religious beliefs of the entire Japanese
people, and the number of its adherents was counted as the total
population of the empire. The cult centered on a great profusion of
shrines in all parts of the country, ranging from small wayside chapels
commemorating local spirits and families to great national sanctuaries,
such as the Yasukuni Shrine, Tokyo, dedicated to the spirits of soldiers
who had died in battle for Japan. In 1946, during the American occupation
of Japan following World War II, the cult was completely separated from
the state by order of General Douglas MacArthur, supreme commander for the
Allied powers. Government financial support of State Shinto was
eliminated, the former practice of teaching cult doctrines in the schools
was abolished, and the use of Shinto symbols for nationalistic purposes
was forbidden. At the same time the emperor issued a statement renouncing
all claims to divinity.

Sectarian
Shinto, a religion of the same status as Buddhism and Christianity, was
unaffected by these changes. At the present time it comprises 13 major and
numerous minor sects. The principal sects are divided into 5 main groups:
those that continue with little modification the traditions of ancient
Shinto; those that emphasize adherence to Confucian ethics; those that are
predominantly devoted to faith healing; those that practice the worship of
mountains; and those that are primarily devoted to purification rites. In
the early 1990s more than 110 million Japanese participated in the various
Shinto sects, but those who professed Shinto as their sole or major
religion numbered only about 3.4 million. The Shinto sects have
approximately 101,000 priests and about 81,000 shrines. One of the most
authoritative works on the subject is Shinto: The Way of Japan
(1965) by the American educator and clergyman Floyd H. Ross.

Special thanks to the
Microsoft Corporation for their contribution to our site.
The information above came from Microsoft Encarta. Here is a
hyperlink to the Microsoft Encarta home page. http://www.encarta.msn.com